5 Ridiculous Blogging Advices You *Must* Ignore

Guest Post - Our host is Amy Brown, Amy uses her personal experience to list 5 Ridiculous Blogging Advices You *Must* Ignore. See How to Become a guest author on Spice Up Your Blog.

The blogging realm is full of 'gurus': some are bonafide experts, others are simply overrated, and then, there is the third kind - the downright wannabes!
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Surprising Blogging Advice No One Ever Tells You

Guest Post - Our host is Kim Yuhl, Kim uses her experience as a blogger to share some fresh blogging advice.See How To Become a guest author on Spice Up Your Blog.

When I first started blogging, I thought to myself "if she can do it then so can I" with every blog that I read. And then one day I decided to do just that. Now keep in mind at the time, I didn't like writing much, I was a pretty private person and I hate asking for the sale or doing anything that seems overly self-promotional. Oh, how a few years will change you.

Now, writing is my saving grace, I am beyond an open book and I promote the heck out of me, my products and services and anything I believe in. I'm still an introvert at heart but I definitely have extroverted qualities that allow me to exist in the blogging world.

With all that said, I wish someone had lowered my expectations about what it meant to be a blogger because it is so much more than writing a few posts each week. Here is what I wish I had known from the start.
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11 Reasons Why Your Blog May Be Doomed To Fail

Guest Post - Our host is Marc Andre, Marc uses his personal experience to list 11 reasons why so many blogs fail.See How To Become a guest author on Spice Up Your Blog.

Blogging has been a critical part of my business and income for the past 5+ years, and over that period of time I've known many other bloggers who have experienced huge success, and even more who have not been able to achieve their blogging dreams.

Whenever I try to analyze what has led to the success or failure of certain blogs or bloggers I come back to the same things over and over again. It's not usually the fact that the blogger has amazing writing ability or an incredible knowledge of the subject that makes a blog successful. And it's not the lack of the same things that leads a blog to fail.

In this article I want to take a look at what I have seen to be some of the most significant, and common reasons, that bloggers fail to reach their dreams and goals. The intent isn't to focus on the negative, but rather to show the pitfalls that trap many bloggers who start out with high hopes. Avoid these pitfalls and you'll be well on your way.
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Forget About Links - Get Your Blog Square With The Social Gods in 2014

Guest Post - Our host is Anna Johnson, Anna is taking a fresh look at blog back links, Social Media and Guest posting in SEO for 2014..See How To Become a guest author on Spice Up Your Blog.

For years, link building has ruled the online universe. Even when content was sworn in as King in 2012, link building still served as the royal advisor. Social media has been the cute little Princess dancing around in the background for the past few years, but it looks like her patience has finally paid off—she’s just been crowned Queen. Whether it is the humanization that social media brings or the incredible variation in distribution, there is little doubt who is making the rules now. So what does this mean for blogging, guest blogging and link building in general?

Guest Blogging Has Been Put Out To Pasture…Or Has It ?
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8 Awesome Photoshop Alternatives From Personal Experience

Guest Post - Our host is Abdul Sattar, Abdul is looking through the best photo editing alternatives to photoshop.See How To Become a guest author on Spice Up Your Blog.

Anyone who uses a computer regularly sometimes needs to edit at least one picture. The problem that arises in this case is that there are a multitude of image editing software, according to users' needs and budget. That is why I made ​​this list of the best programs covering a wide range of needs. Because I do not want to leave out any interesting program, I want to mention both the free and commercial ones, giving a description of each of course in which category it belongs.
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Explore 10 Best Blog Footer Designs With Examples

Guest Post - Our host is David Meyer, David is looking at the oft-times forgotten footer section of blogs with examples of how you can utilize your blogs footer.See How To Become a guest author on Spice Up Your Blog.

The footer is widgetized area of website that provides you several plug-ins to download according to your choice. Ask yourself - whether you want to make the footer eye-catching to attract the visitors. Although many blogs use main menu to serve a navigation, you can use other navigation methods like footer, text, etc. You can add links and plug-ins in the bottom of the page for navigation. It is just a reflection of header. There is no hard and fast rule with footer height, but generally use the color and layout, which is the same as in header. It is a great option to display on the site-map that is not possible to view in your main menu. It is a last port to target number of audiences.

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Blogging Trends and Predictions for 2014

Guest Post - Our host is Bernadette Silver, we are all excited going into a new year of blogging but what can we look forward to in 2014 ? Bernadette gives us her predictions for the next 12 months.See How To Become a guest author on Spice Up Your Blog.

It's that time of the year when all bloggers look back and reflect the rights and wrongs of the blogosphere, and see what might've been done to correct some mistakes we made. It's also time to look ahead towards the new year and predict what's going to happen in our own little big world of blogging:

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Blue Ice - An Elegant New Comment Theme For Blogger Blogs

Guest Post - Our host is Suryakant Sao, who has a brand new comment system for blogger users with a fantastic look, numbered comment system and highlighted author comments.See How To Become a guest author on Spice Up Your Blog.

Hey! Friends this is Suryakant sao from trackmyblog.com.I have been inspired greatly by the work of Paul Crowe and actually he's the one whose articles put a feeling inside me to learn web-design, so for the past 5-6 months I have been learning web-design and now I'm here before you with a tutorial.

Well! I should tell you that I am also blogging on the blogger platform and plan to stay on blogger, but there's one thing that always disappoints me about the blogger platform. It is the low quality of Design i.e. D-E-S-I-G-N used in the comments. Though Blogger is very popular among millions and billions of user across the world but, the importance of  D-e-s-i-g-n can not be denied. To explain this our co-author Mara Fuchs has written a impressive article on Why Design Matters More than Content.

And this is the reason why most people reject the default blogger comments, default blogger templates and default widgets, they prefer to use customized blogger templates, widgets and also the comment themes. And Paul has done a great job by creating the awesome Spiceupyourblog comment theme for blogger users.

Add Blue Ice Comments To Blogger

Why am I here ? Just to add one more amazing and elegant comment theme in Paul's blogs. It just came out as an accident, I was bored of my comment theme so I decided "let's play with the codes now". And gradually after working continuously for hours this comment theme came out which I've named as Blue Ice. The theme has a blue design with numbered comments, highlighted author comments and is created using just CSS.Have a view on the screenshot of this comment theme :

Click On image to see the live demo

Screenshot

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14 Ways to Get the Most Out of Live Blogging from an Event

Guest Post - Our host is Miles Young, Live blogging has become popular over the last few years in this post Miles runs through the best practices for live blogging.See How To Become a guest author on Spice Up Your Blog.

If you're a blogger and plan to attend a conference or industry event, you may want to consider live blogging as a means to expand your reach during the event. Live blogging allows you to be the gateway between the people who couldn't attend and the actual event which puts you front and center, even if you're just in the audience.

Here are a few tips to attract the most attention and get the most out of your live blogging experience.
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Should You Develop A Style Guide For Your Blog ?

So, you've taken the leap and decided to jump into blogging, whether for business or personal reasons. You've got plenty of content and information to offer, but do you have a style guide yet? If you're scratching your head and aren't sure what that is, you're not alone. Unless you have been involved in the writing or publishing community for a while, you may wonder what a style guide is and why it's used.

Simply put, a style guide is a set of rules and regulations you follow when writing your blog posts. For instance, a style guide makes sure you maintain conformity when dealing with numbers, punctuation, citation, quotes, and much more. Style guides are used for many things, including by publishers to maintain consistency in content published in magazines, newspapers, books, and more.

By developing a style guide for your blog, you can ensure your posts are uniform in their execution and delivery. Readers will appreciate that your content is understandable and doesn't vary wildly from post to post or from blog to blog (if you host more than one).

Here are some pointers - as well as a list of pros and cons - that will help you decide if you need a style guide and what to include in it.
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How Does Google’s Hummingbird Update Affect Bloggers ?

Guest Post - Our host is Louise Harper, here Louise will run you through he latest Google algorithm update and how it will affect your blog.See How To Become a guest author on Spice Up Your Blog.

The Internet is agog with talk of the Hummingbird update so when the guys at Spice up your Blog suggested I cover this as a topic I jumped at the chance as it would give me a chance to fully understand what it is all about and hopefully help educate you, the reader. I quickly realised I needed some expert assistance if I was to unearth what the Hummingbird was all about so I called a ‘techy’ friend of mine who works at a creative agency in London. Big thanks to Ben for his time and I hope you enjoy this article and learn everything you could need to know about Google’s latest update.

On August 30, 2013 Google launched a brand new search algorithm called Hummingbird. For those of you who don’t know, an algorithm is what Google uses to sort through websites in order to return the best answers to search queries. In a way you could think of it like a spell. It combines lots of different elements in order to concoct the desired results. In this post we will explain the purpose of Hummingbird and how it will affect us bloggers.

Google named their new algorithm Hummingbird as the two have speed and precision in common.

Not another algorithm!

Oh yes, we’re afraid so. As you may already know, Google regularly designs new algorithms like Hummingbird, Panda and Penguin in order to improve the quality of the search results they provide. Although Panda and Penguin lead to many changes for website owners and bloggers, Google claims that Hummingbird may possibly be the biggest algorithm change since the early 2000s!

One of the best analogies of Hummingbird we have come across is a comparison to a car engine. Whilst the old car engine may have worked fine, it wasn’t offering the efficiency and output that a newer engine could offer. If you think of the old algorithm as the old engine and Hummingbird as the new engine, you’ll get the hang of where we are going with this.

If you are wondering what has happened to the much talked about Panda and Penguin, then you will be pleased to know they are still being used as part of Hummingbird. Basically Hummingbird is making use of the parts of old algorithms which worked well and has replaced the parts that were not up to scratch. Google claims that the new algorithm is capable of serving the search demands of today, rather than what was required a decade or so ago.

Launch date
Google carries out the act of being sneaky pretty well and appeared to get away with launching Hummingbird back in August with us being none the wiser until early October.

Purpose of Hummingbird
Google designed Hummingbird to deal with ‘long tail’ search queries which are becoming more and more widely used. Developments in voice activated technology have influenced the need for search engines to be able to handle more conversational-like queries. Whilst it is still in the early stages of handling long tail and conversational search queries, the aim is that Hummingbird will be able to return high quality search results that will have geographical relevance to a user’s location.


Benefits of Hummingbird
They key benefit of Hummingbird lies in its ability to handle conversational search queries. The rise in mobile Internet usage over the last few years has influenced more and more people to speak searches conversationally, rather than just typing phrases. Hummingbird has been designed to focus on the meaning of the words spoken to it, matching pages to the meanings, rather than just matching words. By considering all of the words in a search query, rather than single keywords, it should be able to produce more accurate and relevant results.

An increasing number of people now perform searches using the voice activated technology on their smartphones.

Changes to SEO
New algorithms usually send website owners and content creators into a state of panic, however so far there have not been any reports that suggest we should dramatically change what we are doing. Google’s guidelines for creating unique, high quality content have remained the same. Social signals are also still extremely important, so keep this in mind when creating content for your blog. You should be aiming to produce interesting and engaging blog posts that will captivate readers’ attention and influence them to share it with their peers via social media.

Things for bloggers to keep in mind
In light of the new algorithm and improvements in conversational search queries, bloggers should be aiming to tailor their content to meet the basic needs and intentions of readers. In order to be able to produce unique content that addresses the needs of users, you need to have a clear idea of who you are targeting with your content and what they require from you. If you want to stand a better chance at showing up in search results you need to present yourself as an expert in your field. Whilst other Google signals will play a role in this, the ability to create in-depth content on a particular subject can also influence your authority as a blogger.

Conclusion
Although many bloggers and content creators fear new algorithms, we should actually embrace them as they help to filter out spam and ensure that users receive quality answers to their search queries. As bloggers we should be looking to adapt our keyword strategies for conversational queries and focus on producing authoritative, relevant content in order to keep up with the requirements of not only Hummingbird, but our readers too.

Have you had any first hand experiences of Hummingbird or noticed any drastic changes be that positive or negative? Let us know if the comments below.

By Guest Author - Louise, a born and breed London girl currently work part time as a business writer. Having agreed with Spice Up Your Blog, Louise worked alongside Ben at The Pink Group to create a essential guide on how Google's latest update will affect bloggers.

SEO and Social Media – Is this a Winning Strategy?

Guest Post - Our host is Ian Mason, Ian looks at Social Medaia and SEO as a strategy for Bloggers.See How To Become a guest author on Spice Up Your Blog.

A recent article published in The Guardian raises some notable issues related to the changing face of the search engine optimization (SEO) industry and the increasing weight given to social media promotions with start-ups and businesses.

Is SEO Irrelevant?

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10 Great Tips For Designing Effective Infographcs

Guest Post - Our host is Ness Aquino, Ness is taking a fresh look at Infographics and the best practices when designing the perfect Infographic.See How To Become a guest author on Spice Up Your Blog.

If you are trying to provide information to your audience or want a way to get creative with it, then making an infographic could be your solution. There is proof that infographics are a better way to provide information than normal text. Since people are attracted to colors, animations, and other visually appealing aspects, they will be more willing to focus and will easily comprehend the content within the infographic. So, to help you create a good one, we are going to cover 10 great tips.
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Unexpected Blog Habits That Can Kill Your Traffic

Guest Post - Our host is Allan Watson, who points out some of the unseen mistakes you may be making that are affecting your blog.See How To Become a guest author on Spice Up Your Blog.

As a blogger there is nothing more nerve-wracking than losing traffic except possibly not ever getting any in the first place, though it is possible that isn't actually worse. When you lose it, it means that you had it and then you did something wrong and usually we don't know what that is. It can kill your motivation, drain your muse, and make you wonder if maybe you should just give up.

The thing is, most of us have seen the articles and heard the common advice about gaining popularity and keeping your audience. If you haven't, or you need a recap, this post by Blogging Basics is a great one. You want to have personality, proofread, post consistently, use images, and make sure that what you are writing is something that your audience is going to want to read.

But what if you are covering all of the basics and you're still not getting traffic or you're losing it? Then something else is wrong and you might not know where to start looking. There are, however, some key elements to having a successful blog that you may be overlooking.
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3 Free Webinars on Blogging So Far in 2013

Guest Post - Our host is Anna Fox, Anna has listed some of the best Webinars created in 2013.See How To Become a guest author on Spice Up Your Blog.

No matter what niche you occupy or what your exact goals are in your blogging endeavors, it's more or less a guarantee that you want to be the best blogger that you can be, making the most of your time and effort in order to build a base of readers who really care about what you have to say.

There are many ways to do this, but obtaining advice and guidance from those already in the know ranks as one of the very best, making webinars a fantastic way to get your information straight from the source - and from the comfort of your own workstation!

Whether you blog professionally or as a casual part-time endeavor, saving money is likely at the forefront of your mind at every turn, making these three free webinars on blogging so far in 2013 a fantastic place to start in taking your blogging game to the next level without spending a cent:
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Using Guest Bloggers To Make Your Blog Better

Guest Post - Our host is Amy Merrill, who takes a fresh look at using guest bloggers on your blog.See How To Become a guest author on Spice Up Your Blog.

Using guest posters and article submissions has become fairly common practice in the blogging sphere. Let’s face it, in the cyber-world where new, fresh content is essential to a successful blog, blog owners simply can’t do it all on their own.

Guest bloggers can lend fresh voice and even spunk to a blog when they’re utilized correctly, but blog owners need to be aware; just as guests bloggers can be a saving grace, they can also be a blogs downfall.

Think before you post

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5 Major Reasons Why Your Guest Posts Are Rejected

Guest Post - Our host is Brianne Walter, as a regular guest author Brianne runs through some of the main reasons Guest post submissions are rejected.See How To Become a guest author on Spice Up Your Blog.

Every blogger understands the benefits of guest blogging. It is one of the best ways for search engine optimization (SEO), gaining traffic, building relationships with your fellow bloggers and proving yourself as an expert in your industry. Unfortunately, not all of your guest post submissions will be accepted. This is because every blog owner accepts the guest post submissions wisely.

You might have spent months on end to research blogs you want to guest post on, establish a relationship with the blog owners and come up with a guest post. After all that time and efforts you put in, what if your submissions get rejected? Wouldn’t that hurt you? Here are five great reasons for which your guest post gets rejected.
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5 Creative Ways To Gather Customer Testimonials

Guest Post - Our host for this post is Shanna Mallon, Shanna is looking at how bloggers can gather great testimonials online.See How To Become a guest author on Spice Up Your Blog.

You don’t have to be a salesperson to know the power of a good referral. Who hasn’t tried, bought, or done something because someone they trusted said it was a good idea? That’s why, when you’re a new blog or business, nothing is quite as powerful for bringing in new clients as gathering customer testimonials. But how do you get them?

Here are five creative ideas that go beyond surveys or traditional requests.
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Why Too Many Bloggers Are Forgetting About On-Page Optimization

Guest Post - Our host is Ashley Williamson, in this post Ashley is looking at on page SEO optimization.See How To Become a guest author on Spice Up Your Blog.

Too many bloggers try to run before they can walk when it comes to search engine optimization: armed with a couple of tips from Moz.com, they try their hand at everything from guest posting to social media marketing in an attempt to raise their search rankings. While this is all well and good, many bloggers are skipping straight ahead to some of the more complicated aspects of search engine optimization without paying attention to the basics, including the most unloved and unexciting of all SEO techniques: on-page optimization.

Since background keyword stuffing and metatags became useless in Google’s eyes, many bloggers have stopped caring about on-page optimization altogether—usually because they feel it isn’t worth the bother. However, they could not be more mistaken. Sure, on-page optimization in itself is not going to have you leapfrogging to the front page for competitive search terms, but it is the foundation upon which the entirety of your SEO strategy rests. Don’t build your house on a foundation of sand, and follow these tips to make sure your website is well optimized for search.
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The Best Websites To Learn HTML And CSS For Novice Bloggers

Guest Post - Our host is Christopher Forsythe, who looks at some great sites to learn the basics of coding.See How To Become a guest author on Spice Up Your Blog.

If you are thinking about starting you own blog, than it's extremely important for you to have, at the very least, a basic understanding and knowledge of how HTML and CSS can properly work to your advantage. Although learning these different coding languages may seem difficult and somewhat foreign at first, as you continue to familiarize yourself with the basics of HTML and CSS, the process will become more clear and easier for you to use. It's critical for you not to give up on learning the specific codes and maintain practicing how to create them in order for your blog to be fully successful. As you continue to learn the "ins and outs" of coding for HTML and CSS, there are many outlets that consist of different websites that will prove to be extremely beneficial in your quest to master these computer languages.Below we list the best sites you can visit to help you learn the basics and get you on the way to become an expert coder.
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